Tuesday, 10 January 2012

Campaigning against the Big Three

Christopher Kelly's tax funding proposals will establish the current big three parties as the official "parties of State", grossly unfairly advantaged by incumbency, crowding-out new parties from a chance to enter Westminster and stiffling much needed political reform of these cosy private metropolitan clubs that between them have a membership of fewer than 1% of the electorate. Their take from the tax-pot may start out as modest, but once established there will be no control over their subventions from the public coffers to build their private organisations. Kelly's myopic and timid recommendations, intended to achieve a weak consensus rather than guarantee democracy, will lead this nation along a path on which lurk the most dangerous threats to our national democracy.

It is time for the ordinary people of Britain to act, not in forming a new political party, nor in supporting an existing fringe party (though we can do both of these as well) but simply by campaigning as individuals against the hegemony of the Big Three. Please note these points; they will keep your campaigns legal.

The regulated period for the next election starts in May 2014. As an individual voter, you can spend up to £10,000 in that year to May 2015 without having to register with the Electoral Commission.

Whatever you spend, you should record all expenditure. Guidance on what counts can be found on the Electoral Commission's website.

DO NOT try to co-ordinate or form groups or reproduce graphics and slogans from a central source. This will lead the EC to aggregate all your electoral expenditure.

DO deposit copyright clear material at Wikimedia that can be used or incorporated by other individual campaigners

Consider setting up a website separate to your blog for the NO campaign that bears your identity as promoter; any newspaper ads or posters you place will also have to declare your identity

Full guidance can be found on the Electoral Commission website HERE, but don't get bogged down in detail. Start saving now for 2014 - we can all afford a grand for a newspaper advert, and once more people get the idea the thing will spiral.

Snappy and to the point, I think, and it has the advantage of covering the whole big-state/corporatist/political-class complex, rather than just those drones who happen to in charge of it at the moment.